Snowed-In Chicago Cars Get Parking Tickets

Some Chicagoans who were snowed in during the area’s recent bout of awful weather received a little surprise when they went out to check on their vehicles — $75 parking tickets.

The Chicago Tribune reports some residents’ cars were buried in snow near their homes due to the storm and the work of snowplows, but were slapped with the tickets because police thought the vehicles were abandoned.

Chicago’s municipal code says a vehicle is “abandoned” if it “has not been moved or used for more than seven consecutive days and is apparently deserted.”

Says one ticketed resident:

“I thought it was a cheap shot by the police department. It doesn’t take a genius to see that those cars weren’t abandoned.”

A city official said police were advised to “use discretion” in issuing such tickets recently. He encouraged those who believe they were mistakenly ticketed to contest the offenses.